NASA

“Like the Planet, there is more to those born under this Planetary Ruler than can be seen in ‘one take.’”

In Astrology, Mercury is the Planet of Communication and Ruler of the Star Signs Gemini and Virgo. But to understand the effects it has on these natives, let’s first discuss the planet astronomically. As we wrote in our post, Gemini Sun Sign, it’s the closest planet to the Sun in our Solar System and, as a result, it has the fastest path around the luminary, with what is called an eccentric orbit. Apparently, the swiftness of the planet moving across the night sky that was observed by ancient Roman astronomers, leading them to name the planet after the Roman winged-footed messenger god, Mercury (hence, the Planet of Communication). This swiftness and eccentricity have made Mercury an elusive capture for astronomers, allowing only one side or part to be viewed at a time. Apparently, because of these characteristics, it’s the least studied planet in our Solar System. Until recently, that is. NASA’s aptly named space probe, the MESSENGER, has dutifully provided a complete map of the planet — and not in one take, mind you, but many! Completely mapped for the first time this year, the images reveal a planet that’s more complex and dynamic than first thought (from its dense geology to its varying daily surface temperatures and difficulty to access, requiring a number of complex orbits by the probe). Like the Planet, there is more to those born under this Planetary Ruler than can be seen in “one take.”

Mercury in Gemini vs. Virgo
Unlike most of the other Planetary Rulers that have dominion over one Astrological Sign, however, Mercury divides its attention between two: Gemini and Virgo. (Venus is the only other Planetary Ruler of two signs, with reign over Taurus and Libra.) However, while there are basic similarities in Mercury’s style of rule over both, there are nuanced differences, mainly in how the two Astrological Sign communicate and channel their exceptional intelligence.

In Gemini, Mercury tends to want the natives to be, well, mercurial, leaving The Twins wanting variety and the ability to flit freely about to the next curiosity, all in a sort of stream-of-consciousness kind of way. In Virgo, it prefers natives to be precise and clear in communication, leaving The Virgin wont for organization to life’s approach. When it comes to their Brain Trusts, both Signs an unusual mentally acuity. But, you’re likely to see that intelligence channeled in different ways. For example, a Gemini can usually talk about multiple topics and convince you he/she is a pro on all things (excellent salespeople). A Virgo excels at targeting his/her audience with information about a particular subject in a precise, organized, educable fashion (excellent teachers).

Despite these “differences,” you might pick up on the fact that both these natives can be flexible and changing. Don’t confuse these similarities as Mercury’s doing. These likenesses are due to both having a Mutable Quality. But you can imagine how to very different communication styles could hamper what otherwise are compatible traits!

“The confusion in communications related to such things as speaking, business negotiations and travel typically associated with Mercury Retrograde is best viewed as an opportunity to “slow down” and revisit or to give more thought to an action you’re considering taking.”

Did you know that Mercury retrogrades several times a year? So what does that mean for you? First, let’s clarifywhat “retrograde” really means.As we wrote in our post, Transiting Pluto Retrograde & You, in as near scientific terms as we can understand and conjure (so please speak up if we get it wrong!),when a planet is retrograde, it’s not actually going backwards as the term implies, but only seems as if it is to those of us who happen to be inhabiting the planets that are passing each other at certain times of their orbits. Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and, thus, on the most inner lane of the orbital racetrack, so to speak, while Earth is on an outside lane of the track. As the faster planet’s (Mercury) pulls parallel to the slower planet (Earth), the planets appear stationary to each other for a “moment’, until Mercury passes Earth. It’s at this point, it appears that one or the other is going backward, depending on which planet you’re living on. “Appears” is the operative word here. Or, if you prefer more “Earth bound” analogies, consider when a fast car approaches a slower car…for a moment two cars seem simpatico, but not for long. As the fast car pulls ahead, the slow car appears to move backward or vice versa. That’s not really the case, as we know. Something called physics is happening!

Mercury takes about 88 Earth days to orbit the Sun. The animation shows Mercury revolving around the Sun approximately 4.14 times (yellow trail) compared to Earth’s 365 days (blue trail). Original simulation by Todd K. Timberlake

In the case of Mercury, its latest retrograde at the time of this writing began June 26, 2013, in Cancer and will continue through July 20. Unless you were born with Mercury Retrograde, when the fastest orbiting planet in our solar system “goes retrograde,” confusion in communications related to such things as speaking, business negotiations and travel might occur for many. However, it’s actually an opportunity to “slow down” and revisit or to give more thought to an action you’re considering taking. For example, when it’s in Cancer, as it is now, generally speaking you might find yourself feeling more sentimental than usual about the past or your family and you have an nagging urge to express these sentiments. Or maybe you are considering a real estate transaction. Or signing a contract to have work done on your house. Depending on the House it’s transiting in your birth chart and if it’s forming an aspect to any of your CBs, the three or so weeks it’s retrograding might be best used to mull things over before taking any action. And if you can wait until it goes direct around July 20, all the better. If Mercury is the Ruling Planet of your Sun, Moon or Ascendant Sign (Gemini or Virgo), read our blog, Gemini Sun Sign.

Interestingly, if your natal Mercury is retrograde at the time of your birth, these periods are can be productive for you and you’ll rarely experience its confusion (To learn more about the difference between natal planets and transiting planets, read Natal Planets vs. Transiting Planets). However, when in doubt, the best modes of action to take during any Transiting Mercury Retrograde period: slow down, take stock, reorganize, review, be patient.

“You’ve heard the adjective Mercurial. These folk are adept, quick thinkers, and eccentric and diverse…you never know which one of the Twins will appear… .”

Gemini (May 21-June 21), the sign of the Twins, is the third of the Zodiac Signs. Generally, Gemini Star Signs suit their Planetary Ruler Mercury quite well. The planet is the closest one to the Sun in our Solar System and, as a result, it has the fastest path around the luminary, with what is called an eccentric orbit. Apparently, it’s the swiftness of the planet moving across the night sky that was observed by ancient Roman astronomers, thus, leading them to name the planet after the Roman winged-footed messenger god, Mercury. This swiftness and eccentricity have made Mercury an elusive capture for astronomers, allowing only one side or part to be viewed at a time. Apparently, because of this, it’s the least studied planet in our Solar System. Until recently, that is. NASA’s aptly named probe, the MESSENGER, has dutifully provided a complete map of the planet — and not in one take, mind you, but many! Completely mapped for the first time this year, the images reveal a planet that’s more complex and dynamic than first thought (from its dense geology to its varying daily surface temperatures and difficulty to access, requiring a number of complex orbits by the probe). Like the Planet, there is more to those born under this Planetary Ruler than can be seen in “one take.”

You’ve heard the adjective Mercurial. These folk are adept, quick thinkers, and eccentric and diverse in their own right (you never know which one of the Twins will appear…the chatty or shy one, the involved or aloof one, the funny or serious one, etc.). It’s no accident that Geminis can be hard to grasp and hold on to! This is made only more so with the sign’s Element of Air. Think of trying to grasp a wisp of fog or smoke and to hold onto it…It’s light, ever-changing — and impossible to do. The best thing to do is let these folks form to the moment, as is wont of Mutable Signs anyway: They usually have no trouble adapting to new situations and people — in fact, variety is really their spice for life. If a situation (or the people) doesn’t change up, they will flit off like a butterfly in search of some new curiosity. This can make them fun companions who are always game to try something different. The Element and Quality of Gemini also allows them to leave one “scene” for another, whether it’s a relationship, job or home, with ease and without much emotional ado (unlike that a Fixed or Water Sign might exhibit). This ability to move on easily is admired by some and loathed by others. That said, most who really know a Gemini soul can’t deny their generally lighthearted and sweet natures. However, Geminis would do well to keep their addiction to variety in check, for it can place them in danger of becoming scattered and unable to focus as they flit about life. This addiction can also manifest as fickleness. A plan made is a plan that can change with these folks. While their need to keep their minds agile with diverse interests remains with them for a lifetime, their fickleness does tend to abate as they mature — and as the people in their lives mature and finally accept to enjoy the spice they can add to life. Fun or frustration? That’s up to you!

The House of GeminiGemini’s natural home in the Zodiac Wheel is in the Third House, the House of Communication and Travel (short trips), among other things. So, if a person’s Third House is ruled by Gemini and/or if he/she has a Celestial Body residing there, they are likely noted for their communication style and as someone who needs a lot of action and diversity, which can often be satisfied through socializing and travel. What that means is when they are wearing their “Talkative Twin” face, don’t be surprised to find them out and about in the ‘hood or at a party chatting it up with the person nearest to them (anyone will do!). Or if they have on their “I’m Bored Twin” face, be ready to take off on an adventure for the day or weekend, or be left behind — they’ll go without you and find someone else to join in on the fun.

“The reputation of solar eclipses (and Lunar) have come a along way — from once being thought of by astrologers (and anyone who cast a gaze skyward) as omens of doom to “opportunities” in modern times.”

The New Moon and Annular Solar Eclipse on May 9-10, 2013, takes place in the Astrological Sign of Taurus. Astrologically speaking, the Sun rules our essence, our vitality. Similar to Lunar Eclipses (April’s Scorpio Partial Eclipse), Solar Eclipses can offer opportunities for new beginnings. The difference between the two being that those of the Moon can influence our emotional self, while the Solar variety can influence our basic essence or vitality. To take advantage of these opportunities, both involve a conscious decision to perform inner work, but with Solar Eclipses, the goals and results tend to manifest in more tangible, outward results. This particular eclipse offers opportunities to embrace new energy for those who have Celestial Bodies with which the Sun, and New Moon, come into direct aspect. Since it occurs in Taurus, Fixed Signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius) stand the most to gain this time around—if they do the work. This is especially so for those of you who have a Sun, Moon, or Ascendant in Taurus that is within a few degrees or less of the Eclipse.

The House that Taurus rules in your natal chart, and to a certain extent the House where Taurus’ Ruling Planet Venus resides, is where these new energies can play out. For example, if Taurus rules your 1st House, you might take the opportunity to focus on how you present yourself to others, possibly by making an effort to be the life of the party or of your social scene. If it rules your 2nd House, you could decide to focus on your personal finances so that you feel more secure, such as by initiating or enhancing a longterm savings plan for that rainy day (or that certain luxury item!). Furthermore, opportunity lies where you have any natal Celestial Bodies in tight conjunction with the Sun in Taurus or residing elsewhere in your chart that are in hard aspect (opposite or square) to the Eclipse. These opportunities would manifest specifically to that Celestial Body’s interpretation. For instance, if the transiting Sun is conjunct Jupiter in the 11th House (Groups, Organizations, Astrology, Aviation), you might find that you want to become engaged in a volunteer organization or community project, even as the leader.

Another “node” of importance: The Solar Eclipse is always opposite the Transiting North Node. In this case, the transiting NN is in Scorpio. It is popular astrological thought that the angle/point the natal NN forms in your chart symbolizes the path you need go, or “grow”, toward in this lifetime. The same could be said of the Transiting North Node’s Sign and House placement at the time of a Solar Eclipse: The Sun illuminates the path to the NN, on the opposite side. In this case, the NN in the Sign is Scorpio. For example, if the Sun (Solar Eclipse) is transiting your 11th House in Taurus, then the NN is transiting your 5th House (Creativity, Sports, Love, Children), it could be that you use the energy you gain from the 11th House to open up your creativity or vice versa.

Not to complicate matters further, but Venus also transits on May 9, from its comfy home sign of Taurus to Gemini (the sign of variety, communication and business). Since Venus is the Planetary Ruler of Taurus, it could take along some of the Solar Eclipse in Taurus energy with it, conjuring up a variety of opportunities for you!

Omen or Opportunity?The reputation of solar eclipses (and Lunar) have come a along way — from once being thought of by astrologers (and anyone who cast a gaze skyward) as omens of doom to “opportunities” in modern times. Now, what you choose to do with the opportunity is the catch (remember free will). Will you choose to be a couch potato and let change slip by, or will you choose to use this special eclipse energy to get up and make something happen in your life that will positively impact who you are for the longterm?Our suggestion, especially to those of you who have Fixed Sun, Moon or Ascendant Signs and directly aspected Celestial Bodies: Get off the couch, make a longterm plan for positive change and take the first step to act on it. And, as we’ve said before, all else will follow.

Astronomically SpeakingUnlike a Lunar Eclipse that always occur with a Full Moon, the Solar Eclipse always occurs with a New Moon. As myastrologylife.com understands it, with an Annular Solar Eclipse, the Sun and Moon are in direct line with each other, but due to the moon’s elliptical orbit around Earth and the Earth’s around the Sun, the moon appears smaller than the Sun. The result: the Sun forms a small ring (aka annulus) of light around the Moon’s outer edge.Long ago (possibly as far back as 700 B.C. and maybe up to at least 800 A.D., it was a popular theory that the Moon was “shining” during this sky event. (This was likely during partial and annular eclipses). It wasn’t until the early- to mid-19th century astronomers understood (thank you telescopes) that this “shining” was actually light from the Sun!

Shown: Annular Solar Eclipse on May 20, 2012. Taken from Red Bluff, California, by Brocken Inaglory. It’s reported by NASA that those living Down Under as well as in French Polynesia have the best chance of catching a glimpse of 2013’s Annular Solar Eclipse.

2013 Solar & Lunar Eclipse Schedule

Partial Lunar Apr. 25 in Scorpio

Annular Solar May 10 in Taurus

Penumbral Lunar May 25 in Sagittarius

Penumbral Lunar Oct. 18 in Aries

Hybrid Solar Nov. 03 in Scorpio

Myastrologylife.com makes every effort to share knowledge throughout our website and social media that is fact checked and researched. However, please let us know if we have presented inaccurate and/or incomplete information so we can rectify any misinformation.

“Myastrologylife has a fondness for the Planet of the Deep both as a natal planet and a transiting one…we find it offers a person a chance for a subterranean shift that can transform the psyche to a place where there is no going back. A place called Forward.”

Pluto is now retrograde in Capricorn until Sept. 20, 2013.First, let’s clarifywhat “retrograde” really means.In as near scientific terms as we can understand and conjure (so please speak up if we get it wrong!),when a planet is retrograde, it’s not actually going backwards as the term implies, but only seems as if it is to those of us who happen to be inhabiting the planets that are passing each other at certain times of their orbits. Earth is closer to the Sun and, thus, on an inner lane of the orbital race track, so to speak, while Pluto is on what might as well be considered, for now, an outside lane of the track. As the faster planet’s (Earth) pulls parallel to the slower planet (Pluto), the planets appear stationary to each other for a “moment’, until Earth passes Pluto. It’s at this point, it appears that one or the other is going backward, depending on which planet you’re living on. “Appears” is the operative word here. Or if you prefer more “earth bound” analogies, consider when a fast car approaches a slower car…for a moment two cars seem simpatico, but not for long. As the fast car pulls ahead, the slow car appears to move backward. That’s not really the case, as we know. Something called physics is happening! In the case of Pluto, a small and distant planet on the “outside track” it will appear to be moving backward beginning April 12, 2013, as the Earth, on the inside track, whips by the dwarf planet. It’s at these times the slower planet is said to be in retrograde motion.

A Few Fun Plutoids

Pluto is Retrograde approximately 5 months of the year.

Its 40x farther than the Earth is from the Sun and it takes 248 years to work its way around the Sun…and your natal chart.

It spends about two decades, give or take a few years, in each of your Astrological Houses.

One day on Pluto lasts about 6.5 Earth days.

Recategorized as a dwarf planet within the Kuiper Belt in 2006. Also called a plutoid (in this case not our play on words, but meaning a planet that’s farther out in space than Neptune—it’s one of three plutoids we know about so far). Check out our take on whether Pluto is a planet or not on FB.

It’s as wide as the United States

It has an eccentric orbit around Sun

We should know more about the planet when the spacecraft New Horizons, launched in 2006, reaches Pluto’s realm in 2015 (barring any mishaps along its way).

What Does Pluto’s Retrograde Mean to You?Myastrologylife has a fondness for the Planet of the Deep (our dub) both as a natal planet and a transiting one because, generally speaking, when we surrender to its powerful inner command to look intensely within to analyze the area of our lives it’s impacting, we find it offers a person a chance for a subterranean shift that can transform the psyche to a place where there is no going back. A place called Forward. It’s command can be even more intensified when it is in retrograde, as it is now. We won’t dwell on what happens if you choose to leave the white flag at home and wage battle with Pluto. It’s choices like that that will be thrown right back at you during a retrograde if there’s still work to be done by you in the House it is transiting, as well as the House in which it natally resides. As the ruler of Scorpio, you will also feel it in the House that Scorpio resides. Because the inner work Pluto asks us to do is hard and intense, this transformation can take a lifetime, and, thus, the results of all that hard work might not be seen until the middle to later periods of our lives.

Currently, transiting Pluto is in the Cardinal Sign of Capricorn (and will be until 2023), placing emphasis on power, money, responsibility, maturity, revolutionary changes in ways of thinking and how we lead our lives. We can see this influence happening on a mass consciousness level, with governments and economies, for example. On a personal level, these themes will likely surface in the House(s) Pluto is impacting, especially if transiting Pluto is in hard aspect to a natal planet. If you don’t know your birth chart House placement for Capricorn, your natal Pluto, or Scorpio (the planet’s natural sign), consider if there is an/are area/s of your life in which you feel out of control or that you have recurring issues on an inner level, issues that might not be apparent to those on the outside. If you have avoided such analysis, it can manifest subconsciously as an uncomfortable feeling that something isn’t right. If that’s the case, take time to look at this “feeling” square on and try to access it. Is it Relationships (7th)? Work/Day-to-Day life(6th)? Career/Public Life (10th)? Family/Homelife (4th)? Where ever Pluto’s focus is, take the opportunity to dig deep and be honest about what you see. It will pay off in the long run.

On the other hand, if the transiting planet isn’t in hard aspect, or if you’ve done your work to get your Pluto-related Houses in order, you’ll reap one of the benefits: Pluto’s retrograde likely will go unnoticed!